Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-32988 is a medium-severity Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367) vulnerability in Openclaw Openclaw. Its CVSS base score is 5.8 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 0.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-32988 is a sandbox boundary bypass vulnerability in OpenClaw versions before 2026.3.11, specifically within the fs-bridge staged writes functionality. The flaw arises because temporary file creation and population are not pinned to a verified parent directory, enabling a race condition in parent-path alias changes. This allows attackers to write attacker-controlled bytes outside the intended validated path before the final guarded replace step executes. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-367 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H).
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this issue through a high-complexity race condition, requiring no user interaction. Successful exploitation changes the scope and enables high-impact integrity and availability disruptions by bypassing sandbox boundaries and performing unauthorized writes outside validated paths.
Advisories detailing mitigation are available at the OpenClaw GitHub security page (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories/GHSA-mj4p-rc52-m843) and VulnCheck (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openclaw-sandbox-boundary-bypass-via-unvalidated-temporary-file-creation). OpenClaw 2026.3.11 addresses the issue.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17388
Vulnerability Data
OpenClaw before 2026.3.11 contains a sandbox boundary bypass vulnerability in fs-bridge staged writes where temporary file creation and population are not pinned to a verified parent directory. Attackers can exploit a race condition in parent-path alias changes to write attacker-controlled…
more
bytes outside the intended validated path before the final guarded replace step executes.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V15.4.2V17.2.6
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
A reference monitor that is always invoked and analyzable structurally eliminates the non-atomic check-then-use pattern underlying TOCTOU.
Access enforcement that performs an atomic check-and-use decision directly stops the window in which a TOCTOU race can be exploited.
Process isolation limits the blast radius of a successful TOCTOU exploitation but does not remove the race itself.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly include coding standards and reviews that prevent TOCTOU race conditions.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Reliable, synchronized time across systems narrows the exploitable window in which a resource state can change between a security check and its use.